Kristi Oshiro went through much of the fall unsure of the direction of the East Carolina softball program.

The school suspended and then fired the team’s head and associate coaches in September following an internal inquiry, leaving the Pirates in limbo for fall practice.

"It was rough. It was one of the toughest things I think a team has to go through," Oshiro said.

"We had a grad assistant and our trainer running practices and running conditioning workouts while we waited for them to hire a new coaching staff."

That move came in late October, when Beth Keylon-Randolph, a successful junior college coach, was hired to lead the program. Although the Pirates have gone through some collective growing pains in the transition, Oshiro has thrived under the new leadership.

Oshiro, a 2010 Mililani graduate, entered the week as the top hitter in Conference USA with a .435 batting average. She was also tied for first in total bases (45) and second in on-base percentage (.493) and runs scored (19). The 5-foot-3 junior second baseman’s four triples topped the league and tied her for fifth nationally, and she hit her second career home run earlier this season.

Her seven doubles entering Tuesday’s play surpassed her total of last season, when she hit .255 with four doubles and a homer. Perhaps more impressively, she’d struck out just once in 74 plate appearances.

"Coach Randolph has helped me so much with my swing and finding ways to make the most of my size and get the most power I can," Oshiro said.

Oshiro credited the coaching staff’s approach for renewing her confidence when she steps into the batter’s box.

"That’s definitely something I lacked before," Oshiro said. "Just her telling us to be aggressive and don’t be scared to make mistakes, I think that alone is huge and has changed my mentality and it’s helped a lot."

Oshiro is part of a trio of ECU starters who returned from Greenville, N.C., to play in last weekend’s Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. Senior catcher Kai Clark (Kapolei ’09) and junior infielder/outfielder Chelsea Kaluhiokalani-Glackin (Saint Francis ’10) also had family and friends in the stands for the tournament, and the Pirates closed their trip with a doubleheader against Syracuse and Hawaii on Tuesday.

Oshiro began her stay by going 3-for-3 with a home run and drove in the game-winning run in a 6-5 exhibition victory over Tokyo Women’s College of Physical Education last Friday.

"That just made it even sweeter," said Oshiro, whose double was the Pirates’ lone hit in an 8-0 loss to UH last Saturday. "You want to do well, especially at home and with the support we get from our families.

"Playing in that stadium is just such a great experience. I’m just blessed to have the opportunity because not a lot of people have that."

In their time away from the field, the Hawaii trio guided their teammates around the island, including an early-morning hike in Lanikai on Monday.

"We try to show them more than just the tourist side of Hawaii," Oshiro said.

ECU had established a connection with Hawaii prior to the arrival of the current group of local players and the trend will continue next season when Oshiro’s sister, Kacie, joins her in Greenville.

"She got to meet all the girls, and it’ll be nice to play with her again for another year," Kristi said.